


Strange Reality

by CharcoalPhantom



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M, Mystery, Psychological, ereri, three shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-24 05:41:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4907572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharcoalPhantom/pseuds/CharcoalPhantom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren slowly got out of bed to stand in front of the drapes covering his window. His room was on the second floor of their two-story house which could only mean someone was throwing stones at his window. </p><p>Am I living a shitty rom-com? Jesus Christ.</p><p>He was ready to yank the drapes open and curse out whoever dared to disturb his sleep...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Keys

“Eren! Go to sleep now! It’s already 1 o'clock and you have school tomorrow,” a man scolded, head poking into his son’s bedroom.

Said son bit his lip, eyes watering in concentration and fingers cramping from holding his pen too tightly, eager to finish his assignment. 

“Eren!” 

“One second... I’m almost done with this assignment,” the teen grumbled back with a slight roll of his eyes. His back was facing the door, hunched over uncomfortably on his bed surrounded by a shroud of papers. _What am I, twelve? Jesus…_

Grisha Jaeger shot his son a pointed look before shutting the door firmly in warning. The boy would never learn to get things done on time Grisha thought with a shake of his head and returned to bed. Eren, on the other hand, continued outlining a speech that was due for his communication studies class. Thankfully tomorrow, technically today, was the last day of school before their winter break. It’s partly why Eren had waited last minute to do his work.

 _Whoever said dog was a man’s best friend didn’t know what they were talking about. Procrastination definitely takes the cake,_ he thought before dropping his head into a pillow and letting out a groan. He sprawled out onto his stomach, back aching from sitting for so long without support, further scattering the papers around him. It was then the teen started regretting every choice he’s ever made. Earlier that day he’d decided to skip his usual after school study session with Armin and Mikasa in favor of hitting up an abandoned mall with Jean. The idiot had dared him to visit the “creepy as shit mall” where a mass murder went down fifteen years ago. Some religious cult believed the Rapture was nearing and took it upon themselves to cleanse every one of their sins with AK47’s before anti-climatically committing suicide. Two hundred and seven innocent lives were lost that day simply for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Now, it’s said that those who visit the mall go crazy shortly after and are usually institutionalized or commit suicide. Even so, not being one to back down from anything Eren accepted the challenge with the condition Jean come along to prove he wasn’t scared shitless.

Needless to say, they both ended up going to the mall only for it to be quite a disappointment.  The only thing notable about the place was all the cobwebs and dust Eren and Jean inhaled on their little expedition.

_..._

_“Dude, I think I just swallowed a fucking web,” Jean cursed._

_“Whose brilliant plan was it to come here anyway? God, you’re an idiot,” Eren adjusted his backpack. The only sound in the mall came from their footsteps and the occasional jingle of Jean’s keys dangling from his back pocket, sure to fall out eventually._

_“Listen, punk, I know someone that went crazy from visiting here, ok? Remember that one girl from two years ago? She totally went off the grid. Everyone was told she went to study abroad but rumor has it she’s actually being held in a mental ward. Crazy, right?” Jean rambled, his eyes glowing in anticipation._

_Eren kept his face impassive even though he really wanted to punch the idiot in the face. The mall was three stories and they were currently on the third floor, having wandered aimlessly on the first and second for an hour with nothing to show for it but dusty clothes and irritated throats. The duo continued walking around separately until Jean called Eren over._

_“Oh shit, Eren come look at this!” Jean was walking towards the food court when he noticed the walls appeared to have something splattered on them in copious amounts. There were also puddles on the floor due to leaks from the ceiling. Eren made sure to step around them lest he fall and embarrass himself. Jean, being Jean, stomped through them, the bottom of his jeans soaked with water slipping every now and then._

_“Holy shit dude I think that’s blood and it’s headed towards the restrooms” Jean pointed, his hands beginning to tremble at the thought of blood covering the walls._

_“Jean, you sound like a character from a shittly scripted horror axe film,” Eren deadpanned but frowned all the same and walked towards the restroom. He glanced back at Jean to see if he would follow and was not surprised to see the guy nearly pissing his pants._

_“Sorry man but you’re on your own. I’m not trying to get possessed or some shit… or axed.”_

_“Fine, why don’t you stay here and play slip and slide. God, you’re such a joke...” Eren took off in the direction of the restroom without another glance, eye twitching in annoyance. He wasn’t scared in the least and was less than impressed with the whole “blood on the walls” scene but had to admit it piqued his interest. Apparently the same couldn’t be said for Jean who liked to act macho around school. Yeah, right._

_When Eren arrived at the restroom he grimaced at the amount of cobwebs that had accumulated heavily on the door knob. Scrunching his nose in disgust he began to brush them away, wary of spiders that had yet to die from starvation; as far as they had seen there were no signs of life in the mall other than the webs. Once he deemed the door knob touchable he twisted it open only to be assaulted in the face by a cloud of dust. Caught by surprise the teen inhaled deeply, sputtering and coughing, waving his hands around in a futile attempt to get the dust away. It took a few minutes for it to settle and even more for Eren to catch his breath._ _After getting all the dust out of his lungs Eren cleared his throat once more and cautiously walked into the restroom. The stalls were in the same condition as the door outside, cobwebs everywhere. Not wanting to deal with them again, Eren chose to shove the stalls open with his foot, quickly glancing inside before moving onto the next one. The fourth stall wouldn’t open as easily and Eren had to kick it a couple times before it gave in. It was the same as the other stalls for all but one tiny detail._

_“What the hell is this?” Eren picked up the strangely shaped stone the size of a quarter that was sitting on top of the metal box which normally held toilet paper. It was pure black and felt like it was made from marble, shaped like a star but not quite. Eren examined it closer to see if he could see any details when he heard a loud thump from outside._

_Startled Eren jumped, quickly pocketing the black stone. When he turned to leave the stall he was greeted with an obnoxious ‘Gotcha suckaa!’ written boldly in “blood” on the inside of the stall’s door. Eren pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. In the end it literally was a joke._

_“I’m leaving,” Eren called out, “this was a total waste of my time. Have fun eating cobwebs for dinner,” he grumbled with his arms crossed while exiting the bathroom and quickly turning to leave the filthy mall._

_“H-hey! Wait, you bastard, I’m coming too,” Jean yelled as he ran to catch up with Eren._

_..._

_I can’t believe I wasted valuable time with that dumbass_ , Eren thought. Mikasa would no doubt scold him to no end when she saw how tired he looked. _Damn._

He spent another fifteen minutes trying to write more before his brain completely gave up on the assignment altogether.  _Fuck it, I’ll finish this before lunch._ His eyelids began to droop. He kicked off the papers on his bed before snuggling under the covers and falling to sleep. 

* * *

“ _Tap_.” 

“ _Tap_.”

“ _Tap_.”

Eren woke to the sound of tapping coming from his window. It was still dark outside so he checked his phone only to find that it was 4:55am. 

“What in the actual f-“

“ _Tap.”_

Groaning, Eren slowly got out of bed to stand in front of the drapes covering his window. His room was on the second floor of their two-story house which could only mean someone was throwing stones at his window. _Am I living a shitty rom-com now? Jesus Christ_ … He was ready to yank the drapes open and curse out whoever dared to disturb his sleep but paused. What if it was some crazy stalker? What if there was a serial killer on the loose he didn’t know about because he never watched the news? Eren bit his lip, hand on the drapes but not ready to do anything about them. His heart started pumping harder as he let his imagination run wild, trying to imagine the worst case scenario and if it would be worth it. After standing for nearly three minutes contemplating if he should really draw back the drapes his phone buzzed. Eren nearly jumped out of his skin and quickly took the excuse to abandon the drapes and check who texted him.

From Unknown Number: Eren open the window

His eyes widened and he could feel his palms getting clammy. Who in the hell was telling him to open his window at five in the morning no less. There was no one he knew that'd ever be that ballsy. His eyed the number to see if it was one he recognized. The area code was correct but that was the only familiar thing about the number. He raked his brain to see if he had given his number to anyone recently but came up blank. His knuckles turned white as he gripped his phone tightly, concentrating on trying to remember.

“ _Tap.”_

Eren jumped.

He was about to reply with a “who is this” before he got another message.

From Unknown Number: Its Jean dude now open the window…or door. I think my keys fell at the mall

A sigh of relief.

 _This dimwit, I knew his damn keys would fall out._   _What the hell is he thinking coming here?_ Annoyed that he had been awoken so early by Jean’s idiocy he quickly typed back a reply and saved the number under Jean.

To Jean: Jean you idiot do you realize its 5am in the morning? GO HOME! You cant stay here. Jesus christ

From Jean: I NEED TO SHOWER

To Jean: YOU’RE CRAZY! Get your keys back by yourself. I’m going back to sleep. BYE.

From Jean: Asshole

Eren threw himself into bed, snatched the covers over himself and attempted to get the 2 hours remaining hours of sleep he had left.

* * *

 The next day at school Eren made sure to avoid Jean at all cost and so far he was doing well, not having caught one glimpse of him.  During lunch he got an earful from Mikasa, as expected, and Armin remained neutral which only served to piss her off more.

“It’s not my fault Jean is an idiot! Can you believe he had the audacity to come to my house at five in the morning?”

“Seriously Eren, how do you expect to graduate at this rate?”

“Guys…can’t we just get alon-”

“I got the assignment done anyway. Why are you getting your panties in a twist?”

“My p-panties in a…” Mikasa elbowed Eren in the gut with enough force to send him doubling over. She stomped off to her next class with a slight blush on her face leaving Eren to clutch his abdomen in pain. Armin could only send him an apologetic look before he left to follow Mikasa. Eren grumbled something about girls being bipolar as he followed suit. Once he spotted Armin and Mikasa he walked over to their table, taking a seat next to Mikasa. She gave him a hard glare before huffing and punching him in the arm. Eren took it as forgiveness. They were discussing what they’d be doing during winter break when Eren felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that it was a text from Jean.

Jean: Dude come with me after school to get my keys back

“What are you doing?” Mikasa asked, leaning over Eren’s shoulder to peek at his phone. Eren quickly showed her the screen before typing back a quick reply telling Jean to go fuck himself.

“Texting Jean. He won’t leave me alone about his keys and wants me to go with him to get them at the mall.”

Mikasa looked at him strangely.

“What? It’s not like I’m going to go with him, we aren’t buddies or anything. Jesus, enough with judgmental stare.” Mikasa rolled her eyes at that and the continued their conversation from before. Soon enough the bell rang and the three went to their respective classes.

The rest of the day went without incident and before he knew it the bell to signal the end of school for the next three weeks rang. After school the trio hung around for an hour making plans to meet up during break before getting kicked off campus and sent home. Eren walked home as usual and was annoyed to find his neighbor mowing his lawn with an obnoxiously loud lawn mower.

“EREN! HOW ARE YA?” the neighbor yelled over the noise with a huge smile.

Eren acted like he hadn’t heard and quickly entered his house, slamming the door shut behind him without the smallest hint of guilt. He was not in mood to talk about how his neighbor’s boring day went; he learned his lesson the last time he decided to humor the old man. Hannes, was it? Either way he didn’t care. What he did care about, however, was his growling stomach. The first thing he did once his shoes were off was head to the kitchen. Both of his parents worked and wouldn’t be home until six, allowing him to raid the fridge freely without his mom nagging at him about how unhealthy his diet was.

Twenty minutes and two TV dinners later there was a knock on the front door. Eren planned on ignoring it but thought twice. Last time he ignored the door Mikasa was on the other side, ready break it down. Reluctantly, he got up and checked to see who it was. He looked through the peephole and saw a fairly short man sporting a shaved undercut and beige overcoat. He looked rather suspicious and Eren contemplated returning to the kitchen when the man pulled something from his pocket and held it up to the peephole.

“My name is Levi Ackerman and I’m a detective. I’m here to question Eren Jaeger about a missing person’s report recently filed.” The man, Levi, flashed his badge.

Eren stepped outside and closed the door behind him. Hannes was manually trimming his plants and waved at Eren when he stepped out. Eren replied with a wave of his own and turned his eyes back to the so called detective. _He’s handsome,_ Eren thought when he was able to get a clearer look at the detective. His eyes were a strange color, almost gray and it fascinated Eren to the point where he hadn’t realized he was staring until the man was returning his gaze. A shiver ran traveled up his spine and he looked away quickly.

“So, who went missing and how does it involve me?” Eren asked, eyes still averted.

“Jean Kirstein. You were the last seen with him yesterday afternoon. ”


	2. Accident

 

“So, who went missing and how does it involve me?” Eren asked, eyes still averted.

“Jean Kirstein. You were the last seen with him yesterday afternoon. ”

Eren’s eyes shot up to meet Levi’s, wide with surprise. His hands flew to his pocket where he held the strange stone he found yesterday. Proof that he had gone to the mall, heavy in his pocket, on his conscience.

“What do you mean he went missing? I just saw him yesterday. We…we hung out after school.” Eren wasn’t sure if they would get in trouble for entering an abandoned mall but for all he knew it would count as trespassing and he definitely did not want to explain that to his parents. The detective, however, caught his hesitance and narrowed his eyes at the teen.

“It would be in your best interest to come clean, Jaeger,” Levi said sternly, authority clear in his voice.

“I’m telling the truth. We just visited some abandoned mall and went home afterwards. Nothing happened after that. That idiot probably is out hanging with his friends and forgot to tell him parents.” It made the most sense to Eren and he couldn’t fathom why his parents filed a missing person’s report so soon. Then again they were always on the strict side.

“HEY, EREN! YOU OKAY?” Hannes suddenly yelled from across his yard.

Eren had forgot all about Hannes who was now looking at him as if to ask ‘What the hell is going on?’ The last thing he needed was for Hannes to snitch to his parents about a detective visiting to ask about a missing person. 

“Sorry, do you mind coming in? My neighbors can be kind of nosy…one in particular.” Eren held the door open and Levi walked in without sparing a glance at Hannes.

“Umm...would you like to sit down or something? Do you want something to drink? We don’t have anything but water right now but if you wa-“

“Water is fine.” A man of few words, Eren figured. Yet somehow, every time the man spoke Eren felt something in him stir. His voice was deep, smooth, alluring. Eren bit the inside of his cheek. He shouldn’t be thinking about something like that when Jean was “missing” and he was the last one seen with him. That could mean big trouble if something happened _did_ happen to Jean and that was something he really didn’t want to consider. After pouring glass of water Eren brought to the detective and held it out, eyes on the floor. Levi reached out but before he could grab it Eren let go and the glass fell to the floor, shattering on impact.

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry. D-don’t move. I’ll just pick this up” _God I’m a fucking idiot._ Eren kneeled down and hurriedly picked up the pieces of glass when one of the shards cut into his palm. He let out a hiss and dropped the ones he was already holding to cradle his injured palm. A hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. Eren looked up to see Levi examining his cut carefully with his calm, gray eyes. A blush tinted Eren’s cheeks and his hand seemed to tingle where the attractive man held it.

“Tsk. That’s a pretty deep cut but it doesn’t look like it’ll need stitches. A band-aid will do.” Levi was still holding onto Eren’s hand and Eren couldn’t help but blush even more, if that was possible.

“You have a bathroom?” Levi hadn’t let go of Eren’s hand.

“Y-yeah. Umm it’s down the hall to the right,” Eren mumbled at the floor in an attempt to hide his face. If he had been paying attention he would have seen Levi roll his eyes.

“I meant for you. You’re the one with the bleeding cut.” There was amusement in his tone but Eren wasn’t able to detect it. Instead, he was left sputtering as the detective headed towards the bathroom with Eren in tow, hand warm on his own. Once in the bathroom Levi sat Eren down on the toilet seat and stared at him.

Eren stared back.

“So, where do you keep your band-aids?”

_Oh._

“I’ll get them.” He got up and began rummaging under the sink cabinet until he found a pack of band-aids. He grabbed one from the pack and put the rest away, closing cabinet. He struggled to open the wrapper without bleeding all over it and Levi must have noticed because in the next moment Levi’s hand were on his own once again, gentle and careful, helping put on the band-aid. Eren looked into his eyes and his breath caught in his throat. They were is such close proximity Eren could make out every eyelash on Levi's eyelids. He briefly glanced at the detective’s lips and wondered what they would feel like on his own, but never found out. Levi was already turning to walk out the door, leaving Eren with his heart beating faster than he’d like to admit. He turned on the sink splashed his face with some water, mindful of the cut on his hand. When he felt is nerves calm he dried his face and returned to the living room where he found Levi had already cleaned the glass from the floor.

“I hate messes. I poured myself another glass, if you don’t mind,” he said, pointing the glass now sitting on the coffee table. The detective was looking at him again and Eren did all he could to keep the butterflies in stomach relax. While he was sure it was in part due to the handsome detective he was also nervous about why he had actually come here: to question him about Jean. Levi had taken a seat on the armchair so Eren opted for the couch that sat across from it, separated by a coffee table.

“So, when was the last time you saw Jean, at the mall?” Levi was reaching in his pocket and pulled out a notepad and pen, ready to write down everything Eren had to say.

“Yeah, he dared me to go. Something about it being haunted so we went together and searched around for a bit. We didn’t find anything and left.” Eren’s hand were in his lap and his brows furrowed.

“How long did you guys stay there for?” His questions were quick and to the point.

“Nearly two hours. Maybe less.” _Or had it been longer?_ Under the scrutiny of the detective Eren found it hard to think. Hard to do anything, really.

“Have you spoken to him since?” He scribbled something in his notebook.

“No…oh wait. He came to my house early this morning around 5am talking about he dropped his keys when we were at the mall. He wanted to shower at my place since he was locked out of his.”

“You didn’t let him in?” Levi raised an eyebrow.

“We aren’t exactly friends. Actually, I can’t stand him and he can’t stand me. Only reason I went was because that idiot dared me to.” And boy was Eren regretting ever going. If he had known Jean was going to pull a disappearing act right after he would have never gone with him. Now Eren was getting involved in something he had no business with. Although he’d be lying if he said he minded the detective currently sitting in his living room.

“Did you guys get into an argument? A fight that got too rough perhaps?” Levi questioned, hands paused and eyes meeting Eren’s.

“What? No. Are you implying that I did something to him? No, no. He left after I told him to go home and that was that.”

“Relax, kid. It’s protocol for me to ask you these questions. No need to get all flustered.” Levi quickly wrote something in his notepad and shot out another question but Eren paid no mind.

“Did you just write down that I got flustered? When you asked about a fight? Nothing happened between us, really.” Eren really didn't want to be suspected of anything, especially since he didn't _do_ anything. Levi raised a delicate brow and simply repeated the question from before. Eren bit his lip before replying obediently, figuring the detective wasn’t going to tell him anything that wasn’t necessary. Things went on like this for the next ten minutes until Levi suddenly got stood up.

“That’s all for today but I’d like to ask you a few more questions once I get more information on this case.” Levi pulled out a card from his pocket and handed it to Eren. It was a plain, white business card with the name Levi Ackerman in gold lettering and a number right below it. “Call me if you find out anything else or hear from Jean again. Got it, kid?”

“I’m eighteen. I’m not a kid” Eren said stubbornly but accepted the notecard. For some reason he didn’t want Levi thinking he was kid. He wanted him to know that he was an adult. That he was legal.

The detective smirked in amusement and decided to humor him. “Got it?” he asked again, omitting the “kid.”

“Yeah, I got it…but won’t you be needing my contact information?”

“I’m a detective. I already have your contact information.” If Eren didn’t already see it he could hear the smug in Levi’s voice. Normally, it would have had him bristling but now he found it kind of sexy.

Suddenly gaining a strange surge of confidence Eren asked, “When will you need to question me again?” _When will I get to see you again?_

“Soon, kid. Now go do your homework, I have other people to talk to.”

“I’ll walk you out,” and Eren did just that. He held the door open for Levi like the gentleman he was and he could have sworn he heard Levi chuckle under his breath as he passed him. Eren felt a sense of emptiness in his chest as he watched Levi walk down the street, presumably towards his car. Something about the man made Eren want to know more about him. He wanted to get close to the man, be on a first name basis with him. He wanted to know what he looked like shirtless, breathless.

That night Eren didn’t get much sleep as thoughts of a raven haired short man with gray eyes plagued his thoughts. His desires. He had never really been interested in anyone and at some point just assumed he was asexual but today he was proven wrong. Just the thought of the man near him, staring into his eyes had Eren’s heart fluttering. What if he had kissed those lips when they were in the bathroom? A lost opportunity. He wouldn’t let another pass should it present itself. He wanted to prove that he wasn’t just a kid. He was an eighteen. An adult and he would show Levi if it was the last thing he did. It didn’t bother him that the man was older. No, age was nothing but a number and Eren didn’t like numbers. He was never good at math and would all but throw it out the window for the detective. Eren took a second to examine his thoughts and acknowledged that they weren’t exactly normal thoughts for having just met a stranger. A stranger investigating him no less, but he put it behind him. He couldn’t help who he was attracted to and the fact that he was even attracted to someone was rather good news. Eren pulled the covers to his chin and drifted off to sleep, his last thoughts of gray eyes staring into his own.

* * *

 

 The next day Eren lazed around, with no real plans for the day. Mikasa and Armin were busy with their families and Eren’s own parents had left for a weekend of relaxation. “A weekend without you is a weekend we get to relax” his father had said, and Eren couldn’t find it in him to be bothered by the statement. He thought the exact same thing after all.

It was nearly one o’clock when his phone went off, indicating someone was calling him. Eren looked at the number and it took him all but two seconds to recognize it as Levi’s and answer the phone.

“Hello?”

“Good afternoon, Jaeger. I’d like to ask you a few more questions today if you’re free.” Levi’s voice sounded nice over the phone, Eren thought. It was almost as if he were there with him and Eren had to hold back a sigh to avoid sounding like a total creep.

“I’m free. What time and where do we need to meet up?” Eren asked, surprised at the steadiness in voice; inside his stomach told a different story. He was excited about seeing the gray-eyed man so soon. Eren would make sure he got the man’s attention, would make sure he got to know more about the man other than his name and occupation.  

“Now would be ideal since you’re free. I’ll text you an address of where we can meet up,” Levi replied, the hints of a smile in his words. At least Eren would tell himself that even if he was maybe being a bit delusional. A guy could hope, right?

“Right. Ok. I’ll see you in a few.” Levi hung up without a reply and Eren expected as much. It was part of his charm.

Sure enough, thirty seconds later Eren’s phone buzzed to indicate that he got a text. He opened it and recognized the address as a café that was within walking distance from his house, thank God. It would take him no more than fifteen minutes to get there and yet, somehow, it had taken him thirty. Realizing that he would be out in public with Levi, Eren wanted to look more grown so he spent an unnecessary amount of time on his hair and clothes. He then took his sweet time walking there, afraid he'd start sweating if he rushed. He wanted to be appear fresh for Levi after all. Once the cafe was in sight Eren nearly skipped the rest of the way. Finally he crossed the street to the café and was nearly hit by some dumb ass who wasn’t paying attention. Eren didn't let that ruin his mood.

Upon entering the café he realized Levi had not shown up yet and was glad that he hadn’t come late. The teen decided to order two coffees for them even though it was already afternoon. He wasn’t sure what Levi liked and there was no going wrong with coffee. Eren walked up to the register and was greeted by a girl he recognized from school. He glanced at her nametag.

 

“Eren? Fancy meeting you here! What can I get for you?” she asked with a warm smile.

 

“Hi, Historia. I’ll just have two coffees.”

 

“Ahh, waiting for someone?” she asked while punching numbers into the register, a suggestive tone in her voice.

 

“Y-yeah,” Eren replied, blushing at the thought of people seeing this as a date. Not that he minded. Secretly, he saw this as a date, albeit an unofficial one. Historia handed him his receipt and shooed him away to wait for his drinks.  

Five minutes later Eren heard a bell chime signaling someone had walked in the café. He looked only to be disappointed when and elderly couple walked in. However, right behind them Levi emerged and Eren felt a smile stretch across his face. He noted that Levi was wearing the same thing as yesterday and frowned, suddenly feeling overdressed. He quickly wiped the frown off, however, not wanting to give Levi the impression he didn't want to be here. Eren stood up to greet Levi as he made his way to the table.

“I got you some coffee. I wasn’t sure what you liked but figured you can’t go wrong with coffee,” Eren smiled sheepishly, a hand rubbing the back at his neck.

“I can drink coffee. Thanks,” the detective replied but didn’t touch the cup.

“You said you wanted to ask me more questions?”

“Yes. I have one question in particular that I‘d like to ask,” Levi replied, all his attention on Eren.

“I’m listening.” With the look Levi was giving him the question couldn’t be something good.

Eren shifted in his seat.

“Did you kill Jean Kirstein?”

 

If Eren’s had widened his eyes anymore they would have fallen out. “W-what did you just say?” he sputtered, mouth open and closing like a gaping fish at the unexpected question, bewildered.

“I asked you if you killed Jean, _kid_.” Levi spat the word kid as if it were insult.

He had asked louder this time and Eren had to look around to make sure no one was staring at him, to make sure no one had heard. Except, everyone was staring at him, giving him strange looks. All of them heard.

“No! No of course I didn’t. Why are you asking me that? J-Jean is dead?” Eren’s heart was racing and Levi was looking at him as if he were the dirt beneath his feet. Levi stood up and Eren did the same. He didn’t care that all eyes were on him now, that were people whispering to each other in hushed breaths, staring, pointing.

“E-Eren are you okay?” he heard of voice from behind him call out. _Historia_. He ignored it.

“What makes you think I did anything wrong? I didn’t do anything wrong!” Eren’s voice could feel his voice rising, attracting more attention.

“Yes, you did Eren. Everyone knows. _I know,”_ the detective hissed, waiting for the teen to give in. Waiting for him to slip up.

Eren was beginning to feel suffocated. It felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest. H couldn’t breathe properly. Levi wouldn’t let him breathe properly. He briskly walked out the café to get fresh air. _To get away from Levi._

Levi followed him.

“Just admit it, Jaeger. You fucked up and now you’re running away.” Levi said, as if he were talking about the weather. He was taunting him, pushing him, breaking him. Eren covered his ears, not wanting to hear anymore. Not from Levi. Eren was trembling all over. There was no way he killed Jean, right? _No, he’s messing with my brain. I didn’t kill Jean. T-that’s crazy._

Even in his own mind Eren sounded unsure. He began pacing back and forth, muttering to himself. He needed to clear his head.

“I have to go home Levi. Let’s finish talking later,” his voice was shaking.

“No. I’m going to have to arrest you, Eren. You killed Jean. He’s dead.”

“NO! I DIDN’T!” he was losing his grip on reason. Knew that it wasn't possible, but when those words fell from Levi’s lips it sounded so real. “Stop talking to me. Stop it, stop it…” his head was beginning to hurt.

Levi smirked.

“I’m leaving. I’m leaving now. Leave me alone, Levi.” He didn’t want to hear it anymore. Levi was putting poison in his head. Making him question himself. _Lies. Lies. Lies. Lies._ Jean wasn’t dead. He was trying to get him to make a confession. He didn’t do anything wrong. Levi’s lying. He’s just doing his job... _just doing his job._

“Why do you want to leave so quickly, Eren? Running away like you always do?”

Eren’s eyes became frantic as he walked aimlessly, not paying attention to his surroundings.

“I didn’t kill Jean. He’s lying. No, he’s just doing his job. He’s just... I didn’t do anything to Jean.  Jean is still alive…” Somewhere Eren heard the sound of bells chiming.

_“EREN_!”

 A car blared its horn.


	3. Reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay last chapter. Didn't mean to delay the update for so long but midterms and life.

“Good evening everyone. It’s unfortunate that we have to meet under such circumstances but there are some questions I’d like to ask you.” A tall man with blonde hair combed neatly to the side sat in a waiting area surrounded by people. Eren’s people. Mikasa, Armin, Hannes, Historia, and Eren’s parents where all in a hospital, eyes on the blonde detective. 

“Has Eren been exhibiting any kind of strange behavior these past few days?” the man asked.

Hannes was the first to speak.

“A day or two ago I was outside trimming my hedge. Eren came out suddenly and just stood on his doorstep, staring off into space. At first I thought he was looking for someone but then he started talking. I asked him if he was okay from my lawn and he just went back inside without another word.”

The detective wrote something down.  

Mikasa bit her lip.

“There is one thing but I don’t know if it’s worth mentioning…” she was unsure. Unwilling. The detective nodded at her, signaling her to continue. She glanced at Armin, as if to get his approval and he gave her a slight nod as well.

“We were talking at lunch when Eren…he suddenly pulled out his phone. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was texting Jean but….but his screen was black. He was tapping his screen with nothing on it.” Mikasa was staring at her hands fisted tightly in her lap. The detective took note of this then turned to Historia.  

“Hmm, would you like to add anything?” Historia nodded timidly.

“Eren had come to the cafe. He ordered two cups of coffee, said he was waiting for someone but no one came. At first he was speaking quietly to himself…he looked peaceful but slowly his demeanor began to change. At one point he started yelling at himself and stormed out the café. I-I could have stopped him but I…I didn’t know what to do. Before I knew it he was walking right into a busy street. I t-tried calling out him….but by that time…” Her lips trembled.

“I see. Well there’s no need to cry. Eren is safe now, after all.” Everyone looked at the detective solemnly. After Eren got hit by a car he was rushed to the hospital where he was now in a comatose state. Safe wasn’t exactly the right word to describe his current condition. The detective continued anyway.

“Are you guy aware of what happened to Jean? This morning his body was found on the first floor of the old mall down on Trost Boulevard. Our experts believe he fell from the top floor to the first. He died on impact. According to our sources Eren was with Jean during the time he fell. We believe Eren has schizophrenia and has created a separate world in his mind to escape reality. It’s unclear if Eren has one or multiple entities in this alternate world but from what we can gather they are malignant. The nurses will be handing you more information on the disorder along with a list of recommended doctors that are well qualified and have experience dealing with this type of thing. ”

Eren’s parents remained quiet, tears streaming down their faces. The thought of their son having a mental disorder without them noticing made the guilt unbearable. How could have something like this happened?  

“Thank you for your time everyone. I’ll let you all know if anything else comes up.”

The detective left and everything was silent.

* * *

 

  _Ugh my head…Jesus Christ what the fuck happened…_

Eren’s eyes were closed; eyelids stuck together, crusted with sleep, leaving him to rely on his other senses. He took a deep breath and strong antiseptics assaulted his nose, making him dizzy. He attempted to get up but found that he was frozen in place. Frozen by a sharp pain that shot up his spine and traveled through limbs. He grit his teeth and relaxed into the bed he was currently in. _Hospital. I’m in a hospital. Why…?_  He tried to remember something, anything, about his current state. Five minutes passed.

Nothing.

Frustrated with his inability to recall what he was doing before he got here, Eren paid more attention to his surroundings. As the teen became more aware he could hear voices outside his room, clear and familiar. _Hannes? What’s going on…?_ He listened intently, not daring to breathe lest he miss some type of important information.

. . .

By the time everyone stopped talking Eren had wished he hadn’t been listening in the first place. _Jean was dead before I left? T-that’s not possible…He followed me out the mall. He visited me that morning!_ Eren began to groan trying to get up once again. _I have to tell them. I’m not crazy. That man is lying!_ His struggling became more frantic, setting off his heart monitors which in turn began to beep loudly. Eren went to yank off the wires when he realizedhis arm was in a cast.He attempted to use his other hand and found that it was fisted shut. He tried opening his fist which proved difficult considering it felt strangely numb, likely to the medicine they put on the cuts there. It also happened to be the hand he’d cut when he’d dropped his glass.

 _The cut…the band-aid. Proof Levi exists…_ Now, more desperate than ever he tried again, and when he finally got his palm open he saw a black stone made of marble, oddly shaped. He could not for the life of him remember how he got it.

“I see you like my stone.”

Eren tensed at the voice and regretted it immediately, feeling his muscles protest at the sudden use. He looked up from his place on the hospital bed and met gray eyes.

“L…Levi,” was all he could make out. His head hurt too much and his throat was sore and beyond dry.

“I’m sorry about earlier, Eren. It was something that had to be done. This was the only way for me to get you away from the _others_.” The man’s eyes seemed to plead with him, warm and gentle and Eren vaguely wondered if he was blushing. He couldn’t feel his face so he couldn’t tell but didn’t doubt it. Levi leaned in closer until Eren could almost feel his breath on his face. _Yes, Levi is real…_

“Would you like to leave with me, Eren? We can go to a place you’ve never imagined. A place much better than here.” Levi brought his hand to Eren’s face, gently cupping his chin. Eren could feel his heart flutter. This is what he wanted, what he could only dream of. Here Levi was, asking him to _escape_. Only one thing was holding him back.

“M….my… fam…ily.” He had a family. Yes, a loving one too. He remembered that much.

“Tsk, quite the family man. They can come too, if you’d like. But not now, later.”

Eren’s eyes lit up but yet another thing was bothering him. Why was he the only who would see Levi. Why did that detective say Jean was dead? Was he truly crazy? _No._ Levi was real, that much he knew for sure.

“Why….c..can’t…they…see…you? What..hap..pened..with…Jean?” He struggled to get out the words, his throat burning.

“So many questions, Eren. Jean is dead, but he didn’t die at that mall. Someone put him there. The _others_ put him there. They want everyone to believe you’re crazy. There’s more to this story than you think. Now, do you believe me? Do you trust me? Follow me and you’ll know the truth, Eren. ”

_Yes. Yes, I trust Levi. Levi is real…_

“Faster Eren, they’re coming. What’s your decision?”

“Y..Yes.”

* * *

Six pair of eyes shot up at the sound or monitors going off from Eren’s room. They were all standing in seconds ready to barge into the door. The only thing that stopped them was a male nurse, telling them to wait patiently while the doctor check on Eren.

Five minutes later a female nurse came from Eren’s room looking nervous.

Words fell from her mouth. Words that didn’t make sense.

Some eyes widened in shock, others filled to the brim with tears.

That day they left the hospital without Eren Jaeger.

**Author's Note:**

> Noob writer here. Hope you couldn't tell too much (x Constructive criticism is welcomed.


End file.
